Source : INDIA TODAY NEWS
The Allahabad High Court has said CCTV systems in police stations must remain operational round the clock throughout the year, and laid down safeguards for periods when the surveillance system is not working.
It said details of all people brought in for questioning or arrest must be entered at the same time in the General Diary when CCTV is non-functional.
A bench of Justices Atul Sreedharan and Achal Sachdev made the observations while hearing a case filed by Raghvendra Dubey and another.
advertisement
In an order dated September 23, the court also set aside Dubey’s arrest, ordered his release and awarded him Rs 10,000 as compensation for 24 hours of illegal detention.
The bench observed, “The facts of this case, prima facie, strongly disclose that the police personnel acted as recovery agents on behalf of the complainant.” According to the petitioner, he was illegally picked up from Asansol and brought to Sardhuwa police station in Chitrakoot because of a dispute linked to a sand-mining agreement.
The state, on the other hand, argued that the petitioner was arrested after non-bailable warrants were issued following the registration of an FIR.
But the court found the arrest memo to be “grossly deficient” as it was witnessed only by police personnel.
The court directed that CCTV systems within police stations must remain operational 24/7 and for 365 days. It said that if a system fails, the Station House Officer must make a General Diary entry recording the exact time of failure and name the official to whom the failure was reported in writing.
The Superintendent of Police of the district must also be informed so that downtime is kept to a minimum and the repair steps are recorded.
The bench said, “Another worrying aspect of this case to which this court must advert to is the repeated number of cases in which the police are trying to manipulate CCTV cameras within the premises of the police station.”
It added, “During CCTV non-functionality, entry time, departure time, and interrogation details of every suspect must be recorded in the GD. A signed receipt must be obtained from the person or their next of kin upon release.”
The court referred to CCTV footage that showed the petitioner entering the police station at 9 am on July 13, 2026, leaving at 10:19 am with the Investigating Officer in the informant’s vehicle, and returning at 8:24 pm.
However, his arrest memo showed the arrest time as 3:30 pm, while the General Diary recorded his entry into the lock-up at 6:41 pm. The court also noted that interior CCTV footage from three cameras was missing or deleted.
In its order, the High Court said police stations must ensure uninterrupted CCTV coverage, and where that is not possible, every movement and questioning of a suspect must be contemporaneously recorded, as it found serious irregularities in the petitioner’s detention and arrest.
– Ends
SOURCE :- TIMES OF INDIA
